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Valencia Wins Gold at 63rd Annual Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov International

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by David Gerhart, USA Wrestling

Zahid Valencia hand raise following win at the 63rd annual Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov International in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Zahid Valencia hand raise following win at the 63rd annual Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov International in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

PLOVDIV, Bulgaria – 2025 World champion Zahid Valencia rolled to the gold medal after going 4-0 at 86 kg at the 63rd annual Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov International at “Kolodruma” in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.


Valencia dominated through his first two matches of the day with a pair of 11-0 technical falls over Austria’s Simon Marchl and Switzerland’s Umar Mavlaev. In his semifinal bout, Valencia grabbed a 9-3 decision against Osman Gocen of Türkiye. Gocen would go on to beat Mavlaev for bronze in Bulgaria.


In the championship bout, the two-time World medalist pinned Oleksandr Mamrosh of Ukraine. Before the fall, Valencia held a 6-4 lead in the contest.


The gold medal in Bulgaria is Valencia’s second medal of the 2026 season after capturing bronze at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series in February.


Complete results from Friday’s men’s freestyle action at the 63rd Annual Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov International are available below.


Match-by-match results and brackets can be found on bul-wrestling.org.


2026 Dan Kolov – Nikola Petrov International

At Plovdiv, Bulgaria, March 27


Quick Links


Men’s Freestyle Results

57 kg

Gold – Nikoloz Botchorishvili (Georgia)

Silver – Roman Hutsuliak (Ukraine)

Bronze – Yusuf Demir (Türkiye)

4th – Bekir Keser (Türkiye)

5th – Vladyslav Abramov (Ukraine)

6th – Nik Doychinov (Bulgaria)


Gold – Nikoloz Botchorishvili (Georgia) inj. def. Roman Hutsuliak (Ukraine)

Bronze – Yusuf Demir (Türkiye) dec. Bekir Keser (Türkiye), 6-4


65 kg

Gold – Shamil Mamedov (Bulgaria)

Silver – Khamzat Arsamerzouev (France)

Bronze – Emrah Ormanoglu (Türkiye)

Bronze – Ahmet Duman (Türkiye)

5th – Goderdzi Dzebisashvili (Georgia)

5th – Mikyay Naim (Bulgaria)

7th – Andrii Dzhelep (Ukraine)

8th – Murad Ilyaz (Bulgaria)

9th – Timur Shanbayev (Kazakhstan)

10th – Mykyata Honcharov (Ukraine)


Gold – Shamil Mamedov (Bulgaria) dec. Khamzat Arsamerzouev (France), 6-0

Bronze – Emrah Ormanoglu (Türkiye) tech. fall Goderdzi Dzebisashvili (Georgia), 11-0

Bronze – Ahmet Duman (Türkiye) dec. Mikyay Naim (Bulgaria), 5-4


74 kg

Gold – Mihail Georgiev (Bulgaria)

Silver – Omer Vayir (Türkiye)

Bronze – Ihor Nykyforuk (Ukraine)

Bronze – Bohdan Oliinyk (Ukraine)

5th – Hristo Tashev (Bulgaria)

6th – Valentyn Hryhoryshyn (Ukraine)

7th – Petar Petkov (Bulgaria)


Gold – Mihail Georgiev (Bulgaria) fall Omer Vayir (Türkiye)

Bronze – Ihor Nykyforuk (Ukraine) forfeit Abderrahmane Benaissa (Algeria)

Bronze – Bohdan Oliinyk (Ukraine) tech. fall Hristo Tashev (Bulgaria), 10-0


86 kg

Gold – Zahid Valencia (United States)

Silver – Oleksandr Mamrosh (Ukraine)

Bronze – Ivars Samusonoks (Latvia)

Bronze – Osman Gocen (Türkiye)

5th – Umar Mavlaev (Switzerland)

6th – Tornike Tulashvili (Georgia)

7th – Eduard Enchev (Bulgaria)

8th – Denys Bykov (Ukraine)

9th – Simon Marchl (Austria)


Gold – Zahid Valencia (United States) fall Oleksandr Mamrosh (Ukraine)

Bronze – Ivars Samusonoks (Latvia) forfeit Fateh Benferdjallah (Algeria)

Bronze – Osman Gocen (Türkiye) tech. fall Umar Mavlaev (Switzerland), 11-1

U.S. Men’s Freestyle Results

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC), gold medal

WIN Simon Marchl (Austria), tech. fall, 11-0

WIN Umar Mavlaev (Switzerland), tech. fall, 11-0

WIN Osman Gocen (Türkiye), 9-3

WIN Oleksandr Mamrosh (Ukraine), fall